Over 28,000 may die if we don’t take care, warns Kagwe

The Ministry of Health projects that 28,000 people could die of Covid-19 if the public does not adhere to government regulations.

During a briefing on the state of coronavirus in Kenya, Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe (above) said Kenyans have devised ways of circumventing the set rules and are endangering others.

He cited a case where passengers faked a funeral and travelled from Nairobi to Homa Bay with an empty coffin. The driver of the vehicle later tested positive for coronavirus after the group was quarantined.

Mr Kagwe also said unscrupulous matatu drivers have been colluding with their colleagues to drop and pick passengers at roadblocks to defeat the restriction of movement in and out of Nairobi.

“I have also been informed by the governor of Mandera of people who are bribing their way out of quarantine,” he said, adding that they are taking measures to hold people who are flaunting the rules to account.  

Cases of people who have been diagnosed with coronavirus are steadily rising. Yesterday, 16 more people were found to be positive, bringing the number to 262.

“Kenya is on red alert. The numbers keep rising and as you can see, the higher the samples, the higher the cases,” said Kagwe, adding that they had tested 1,115 people between Thursday and Friday.

All the 16 cases had no history of travel and were not in quarantine. Nine were in Nairobi, five from Mombasa and one is in Homa Bay. Their ages range between 13 and 84. The 84-year-old is a herbalist who was attending to patients.

Kagwe announced that they have now started targeted testing where they go to places that have recorded cases of coronavirus. He said there is no estate in Nairobi that has not recorded cases of Covid-19.

The CS noted that Kilimani has six cases, Karen 5, Pipeline 5, Utawala 4 and Kawangware 3. He also mentioned Mlolongo, Ngara and Eastleigh as among the places where they have had cases.

“We can overcome this disease, but only if we appreciate that this is not a government disease,” he said.

He disclosed that they are discussing with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on how to handle Kenyans stranded abroad. He said the ban on international flights makes it hard for the government to evacuate Kenyans abroad (See story on opposite page).

There has been outcry following the suffering of Africans in China. Some have been sleeping in the streets after they were hounded out of apartments.

“They were telling us that we are making other people sick. Some of us were taken into quarantine,” said one Kenyan at a hospital in China. He said they are anxious about what will happen to them after the quarantine.

“I just want to go home, it is horrible here,” he said.

There have also been complaints about the price of masks after the government promised to avail them cheaply.

“All we see are news items of donations to the government, and how they have started mass producing the masks, but we do not see them,” said Charles Oringa, a matatu operator.

“I spend about Sh600 per day on masks for myself and my crew. It gets dusty because I am a driver, so I have to keep buying,” he says. The CS said despite having announced that masks could retail at five shillings, the cost has gone up due to demand.

He urged the public to be vigilant and report people who travel to other parts of the country from Nairobi.